Who We Are About the 48HFP

About the 48HFP Who we are & what we are about

The 48 Hour Film Project is a wild and sleepless weekend in which you and a team make a movie - write, shoot, edit and score it - in just 48 hours. No creative work is allowed prior to the Official Filmmaking Period.

On Friday night, you'll get a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre, all to include in your movie. 48 hours later, the movie must be complete. Then it will screen at a local theater - usually in the next week.

Our History How it all got started

Back in May 2001, Mark Ruppert came up with a crazy idea: to try to make a film in 48 hours. He quickly enlisted his filmmaking partner, Liz Langston, and several other DC filmmakers to form their own teams and join him in this experiment.

The big question back then was... 'Would films made in only 48 hours even be watchable?' The answer was a resounding yes - that was 13 years ago. Now with

Our Mission Our goals & what we strive to do

The 48 Hour Film Project's mission is to advance filmmaking and promote filmmakers. Through its festival/competition, the Project encourages filmmakers and would-be filmmakers to get out there and make movies.

The tight deadline puts the focus squarely on the filmmakers - emphasizing creativity and teamwork skills. While the time limit places an unusual restriction on the filmmakers, it is also liberating by putting an emphasis on doing instead of talking.

Fun Facts Did you know...?

First Line of Dialogue

In the very first project ever, the required line was I made you who you are, and I can just as easily break you.• more info...

Our Largest Team

Our largest team to date was a team from Albuquerque with 116 people and 30 horses!

Smallest Team

Our smallest team has consisted of one person who sets up the camera then runs around to be on-camera.

Current Tour

In 2014 the 48HFP will visit more than 120 cities where more than 60,000 people will make short films.• more info...

Teams and Filmmakers

We've had about 25,000 teams in the Project over the years, and at 13 people per team, that translates to roughly 325,000 people who have answered the call to come on out and make a movie!

Around the World

The Project has truly spread to the four corners of the globe. Filmmakers from Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas will compete to see who can make the best short film in a weekend.• more info...

One Big Experiment

The 48HFP had it's start as a filmmaking experiment between friends. Who knew back then that it would grow to become a global phenomenon?!?• more info...